The press is adulatory when it comes to the government’s decision to force tobacco companies to print gory pictures on their cigarette packs in a very prominent fashion so as to drive away users. Whether this will work or not is yet to be seen since there is little evidence that those who smoke are not aware of the damage it can cause. But has the government come up with any contingency plan in case users start switching from tobacco? Several lakh farmers grow tobacco and many times more than that are involved in rolling beedis and other professions related to tobacco. Has there been any study to see how they can be shifted to other crops? Is there any programme in place which can make this shift happen? While reducing tobacco usage is a good thing, some thought needs to be paid to this aspect as well.
Usha Mehta, Gurgaon
